Baby Steps
by RevengeOfThePink
Summary: Franky's just poured out her feelings, and tonight is all about making her feel better. But she's not the only one who's got a secret. Oneshot. Sequel to Okay.


**So, here's the sequel to Okay! Please read it first, otherwise you may be a little confused as to what's just happened.**

**It shouldn't be hard to figure out, but some events in last weeks episode have been slightly altered.**

* * *

><p>"Fuck, Franks, I- I had no idea that things were that bad. You should have said, you could have called."<p>

"I did. Before I got with him. I wanted to come over, but you were... busy. The next time we talked... it wasn't great."

"You weren't the only one that lost Grace, Franks."

"But I see her, don't I? I see her everywhere I go, I still hear her all the time... But it was so much worse back then."

"You think you're the only one?"

She shrugged.

"Look, you can't just sit there after what you just told me, shrugging your shoulders. Franky... you need to see someone."

"I can't... Besides, I'm okay. You said it yourself."

"Yes, because you made me. Franks... Franky... You know what he did to you... don't you?"

She looked at me.

"He raped you Franky... he abused you. If he'll do that to you, he'll do that to every other girl he's ever with in his life. You have to do something. If I wasn't here talking to you right now, I swear I would be brutally killing him as we speak. But I won't... I know you don't want to get into any more shit."

She shook her head... "Thanks, but... I'm not bothered about getting him sent down. Even if I was, there's no evidence of him anymore, and I was his girlfriend. There is no possible way."

"You at least need to talk to someone, Franks. Get that second counsellor. Just don't tell them why you need it. Just talk to someone about it."

"I already have."

"Other than me, Franky."

"If I knew you were going to be like this, I never would have told you."

"Oh, Franky, you can't say that, I'm only trying to help you, really... I don't know how you've been able to deal with this... seriously... Look, come here."

And I enveloped my friend into a hug. She didn't deserve that at all. When I first met her, it was like she was seriously scared of sex, and I was obsessing over losing my virginity, I just everything to be perfect. And now look at us. If you knew everything about us now, you would hardly recognise either of us.

But no-one deserved to go through anything even remotely like what Franky had...

I didn't always like her, but I'd always be there for her if she needed me now. That's what friends were for. Without Grace, we all needed to rely on each other more. However, as much as we should, not everyone would.

She started crying again, right into my shirt. Normally, I would give a shit. Today wasn't normal. Nothing since Morocco had been. How could it be? There was Grace, the farm boy, the new gay one, the sudden lack of Nick's brother... everything had changed completely.

Franky had just poured out her feelings to me all in one go. I was overwhelmed by what she had told me. I had no idea about that sick bastard, not really. All I knew was that he was bad news. If she'd have given me any clue that everything wasn't fine... we wouldn't have argued for a fortnight after she broke up with him. Like everyone but Nick, I was under the impression that they had some sort of amicable break up. I had no idea what that bastard had been doing to her... how much he hurt her... If I knew where to find him, I would have ran there straight away, chopped off his stupid little dick and made him eat it, even though I knew he deserved so much more than that, I had to respect Franky's wishes just a little. As much as it sickened me to hope that she was the only one, I doubted she was the first, and I knew she wouldn't be the last. Why would he stop?

And I was so glad that she got out of there when she did, even though it was later than it should have been. He'd finally shown his true colours to her, and the real him was not going to be a good boyfriend to my friend, not that the fake one was much better. But if she hadn't... it would have only gotten worse for her, wouldn't it?

I just wanted to kill him. But I wouldn't. Not yet at least... I was needed, besides, I had only just told her I wouldn't, and for now I had to keep that promise.

"You've got me now, eh? And I won't say a thing about Luke... to anyone. You can trust me..." I paused, "Do you want me to go get you a drink?"

She nodded, and I went down the stairs in her house to the kitchen, leaving her on her bed.

One of Franky's dads was in there – Jeff, the younger, fitter one.

"Are you girls alright up there?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, um... What's Franky's favourite drink? She needs a bit of cheering up..." I was purposefully vague.

"Oh, what's the matter with her; I had no idea..."

"It's not something you would know much about. She just needs someone right now... Would it be alright if I stayed over? I just think it might help her feel better."

"Well, if it's fine with your mum, it's fine with me. I'll set an extra place at dinner."

"Thanks. Just don't let her know you know, you know? She doesn't want anyone knowing that she feels shit right now."

"It's nothing serious, is it?"

"No." I lied. It was better for him if I did.

"That's alright then. Some sort of girl problem?"

"You could say that." More like a boy problem.

"Say no more then – it's not my area of expertise." I would hope it wasn't.

And he handed me two big mugs of hot chocolate; the fancy sort, with grated chocolate and marshmallows and whipped cream.

"One for you too."

"Oh... thanks."

I didn't really know what to call Franky's dads without it getting confusing. The both had the same name, albeit spelled differently. It was easier to just... not call them anything, unless only one of them was in the room at the time.

When I got back to her room, she was exactly where I left her.

"Had your dad make us some really fancy hot chocolate." I said, handing her a mug. "Oh, and I'm staying tonight. I can't just up and leave on you after today, now can I, Franks?"

She smiled. She had stopped crying. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Now, Franky, you have to tell me about Nick. Does he seriously have the hots for you?"

She giggled, "Yeah. I haven't let anything happen though. Maybe he was showing me his ball sack on purpose. Trying to impress me or something."

I smirked, "I don't blame you. But if you had, you'd be joining that club me and Liv joined last year. Oh, and you'd be able to compare notes on both brothers with Liv. Doesn't that sound amazingly fun?"

"I don't think I can... Not for a while. I just keep thinking about Luke now. Not him, but what he did. It's all the time. Sometimes, I'm asleep and I think he's coming back for me. It used to be the crash, and I thought that was bad. Oh God... every time I close my eyes... he's there, waiting. He's in my dreams, my nightmares, he's everywhere I turn."

"Franks, that's why you need to get that counsellor, the death one helps, right?"

She nodded, "Grace... isn't there as much anymore... and when she is... it's kind of alright."

"Don't you want it to be like that with this?"

"How could I, without letting my dads know what happened?"

I wasn't going to argue.

My phone vibrated, and I knew who it was before I even looked at the screen. Farm Boy. He probably wanted a fuck. I didn't. Well, I did, but Franky was more important.

I answered, "Hello?" As if I didn't know.

"Hey, Mini! Fancy a shag?"

"I can't tonight."

"Mini, I'm no girl, but I swear that's only supposed to happen once in a month, not twice in a fortnight."

"No, I am in the mood, but -"

"Perfect! What time can I come over? I'm bringing pizza!"

"You can't. I'm not at home, and I am very busy."

"Oh, so where are you then?"

"I'm at my friend's house, I'm staying there tonight."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because she's sad and she needs a friend. I'm going to be that friend tonight."

"Oh, what kind of friend?"

"Urgh – don't be so stupid, get your mind out of the gutter. I've got to go and get off with my friend now. And no, you can't join in." I said, with added sarcasm.

"Tomorrow then?"

"Maybe. Just don't bring any skanky pizza."

And I hung up on him.

"Who was that?

"Just a boy. Seems to think we're getting off with each other or something. He so wanted a threesome with us."

"Mini McGuinness, have you got a boyfriend?"

"He's not exactly my boyfriend. We just... have sex. A lot. Sometimes he brings food over to convince me that we're on an actual date. His dick is seriously the only thing I like about him."

"Who is it?"

"Doesn't matter. Although, it is thanks to me that he is no longer a virgin. Anyway... today is about you, Franky Fitz. Not me. We can talk about the boy some other time."

"Thanks."

"What I get is, you knew he was dangerous in Morocco, right? Why did you even go looking for him in the first place?"

"I told you. He can't feel guilt or pain. It was... different. He'd the only person I'd ever met who could do that... I wanted to be able to do it to."

"Yeah, because he's a psychopath. Just exactly how many people did he beat up for no apparent reason? And you can't just block this shit out. You can't block Grace out, and you certainly can't block Luke out anymore... Besides... blocking things out... it never works anyway – you can trust me on this one."

"No-one else was there to help..."

"Someone's always going to be there for you. Someone that's not a dickhead."

"Like you, you mean?"

"I was wondering when you'd finally show up Franky."

"What do you mean?"

And then, her phone rang.

"Who is it?" I asked. I wasn't meaning to pry.

"It's Nick. Don't worry, I won't answer."

I smiled at her, "Give it to me."

And she did, so I answered it for her.

"Franky? Matty called, he –"

"Yeah, Nick, I'm not Franky."

"Oh, Mini, hi... what are you doing on Franky's phone? And when I said Matty called, I didn't mean my brother, you know."

At that point I left the room, and went into Franky's bathroom for some privacy. I wasn't going to tell him anything, I'd promised, but still.

"I'm not bothered about you and your stupid brother right now. I'm more bothered about Franky."

"Franky? Why, what's the matter with her?" He seemed to think something along the lines of her going missing.

"Don't worry, she's here. She's just... in a bad place right now."

"What happened Mini?" He was all serious. Not that this wasn't.

"I'm sworn to secrecy. She just needed a friend, someone to talk to, someone to spend the best part of half an hour crying on."

"It's serious, isn't it?"

"I can't tell you that, Nick. You're just going to have to wait. She's taken weeks to tell just one person, and she really needed a friend. Someone to rely on. Just... if she ever wants to talk to you, listen. And whenever she says she's okay..."

"Mini..."

I wanted to tell him. I really did. But I couldn't. It wasn't my story to tell. And I couldn't betray my friend like that.

"Oh, and don't even think about wanting to get in her pants for a very long time."

"I thought you two weren't even friends anymore?"

"We weren't for a while, but when you need someone, it doesn't matter. We're friends again now. We just had a serious misunderstanding, kind of my fault."

"But... I'm her friend. We've been friends for... weeks now. Why didn't she come to me?"

"She told me she nearly did, more than once... Just forget that anything's wrong okay. I think she just wanted to tell a girl first."

"Why?"

"Don't worry, she's neither pregnant nor a lesbian. Anyway, I'm staying at her house tonight. I don't think she should be alone right now... She's having a really bad time Nick..."

"Should I come over?"

"No, you can't. And if you start being a dick to her, I'll cut off yours. Is that clear?"

"Yeah."

"Goodbye then."

I hung up Franky's phone and went back to her room.

"I warned him to be a good friend."

She took back her phone and turned it off.

"You didn't have to turn it off."

"I know. But I thought I should. Did you say anything else?"

"Honestly?" I sighed, "I told him how you were feeling. I did not mention Luke, at all. I wanted to. He wanted to come over, find out what was the matter. I told him you'd tell him in your own sweet time, if ever. I also told him not to want to get in your pants... I'm sorry, I know it was wrong of me, but I had to, you know? He's your friend. But don't feel pressured into anything."

She looked away for a second, "I didn't want him to know anything right now..."

"I know. He doesn't. He knows nothing. I'm telling you that now so that he can't trick anything out of you. Don't tell him if you aren't ready. Oh, and if he's ever a dick to you, tell me. He's had his first and only warning, and he knows the price he'll have to pay."

"I guess I should thank you then... You are a good friend."

"I know... Nick didn't press charges on Luke either, did he?"

Franky shook her head, "We agreed he wouldn't. It was just easier not to get into any shit."

"Fair enough, but he could have gotten something for that... It might have been nothing compared to what he could have gotten for..." I didn't want to say the word again. It must have been so hard for the poor girl. But we both had difficult shit to deal with... I just wasn't letting her know that.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door. It was Franky's other dad Geoff, the older one.

"Dinner's ready."

"Okay, thanks Dad, we're coming down." Franky said, and he left.

And a moment later, we both headed down, and we were both fine. At least we made it seem that way.

Me and Franky sat down together, opposite both her fathers.

"Have you girls been alright up there?" The younger one asked.

"Yeah, thanks, we have. Just having a bit of um... girl talk." I told him.

"Haven't seen you around here in a while, Mini, have we? Everything been alright?"

"Yeah. We had a bit of a falling out, and all this... stuff to deal with. We're friends again now though, so that's all that matters."

"I'm glad." The older one said.

I picked at my food. It wasn't that Franky's dad was a bad cook, I just... wasn't in the mood. I ate some, but it wasn't the sort I wanted. I had to eat though, even when I didn't want to. There wasn't much of a choice anymore.

"You're lucky, you know, Franky."

"Why?" She asked.

"You get 2 Dads. I get one who I see once every 5 or 6 years, and then goes and... abandons me."

"And some people don't even have that." The older one said.

It was quiet for a while again.

"So your mum's okay with you staying?"

"She doesn't know. No point telling her. Besides, I'm pretty much an adult anyway. She won't even notice I'm gone."

"Will you be alright for clothes, then?"

"Yep. Besides, there's another girl in the house. I can just borrow something of hers now she dresses like a girl most of the time."

When we were done, we went back up to her room. It was a nice room really, bigger than the one I had to deal with. There was more than enough room in there for me and her. A few cool things in there too.

And then, something started to plague my mind, "You know if your dad hadn't been there when Luke came back... would you have gone with him?"

"I'd have tried not to... but..." She paused, "I don't think he would have given me a choice. I'd have been stuck with him for good, and I wouldn't have been able to tell anyone or... go back at all, would I? He barely let me go that morning we argued..."

"Oh, god Franks."

"I already felt like I had no choice. You didn't see him Mini... When he beat Nick up... it took me ages to realise how fucked up it was. He was out of control, and there was no way I could have gone with him... but there was no way I could have stayed either. He would only have come back for me... I was so fucking scared, Mini."

"That's why you should have gone to the police. But... Franky, I can't even imagine how that must have been for you... I'm lucky enough to have never felt that way in my life. You should have been too."

"Not everyone can be..." I agreed, her and Grace. And it was all because of Luke.

I looked down, "I know. But we've all got dark secrets. Things we don't tell anyone, even though we should. Sometimes, we even forget to tell ourselves..."

She nodded. Her deep dark secret was more than she should have had to deal with.

"Franky... I know I keep saying this... but you need to find a way to get that second counsellor. The one you've got now is for grief, so she can't help, right? You could ask her, you know. About how you could get... the other one, without your dads knowing why."

"I'll think about it."

And then I got a text, from Nick, 'Is it 2 do wiv Luke?"

I looked at it, but I didn't reply. I couldn't.

"Shit... Nick just texted me... he's figured it's something to do with Luke. I haven't replied. I don't think I can."

She pulled her legs in, and put her hand on her head. "Shit..."

"Don't worry. He's not getting another word from me. I told him too much... I know."

My phone vibrated again, 'Matty sed he wanted to do her in morocco + he put the drugs in his car.'

"Oh no... Nick doesn't know, Franky. But, apparently, he was planning on doing this to you back in Morocco, when he first met you... and he put the drugs in Matty's car."

"This was always his plan? I feel sick... I should have realised, Mini..."

"How could you? It's not your fault, and you aren't the only one who wants to vom either." Not just because Luke sickened me.

I gave her a big hug, and I was so glad that I was staying the night. Without me, she'd be a total wreck, and I just couldn't understand how she'd been dealing with this for 6 whole weeks without anyone to help her. She was so fragile...

After a while, we had moved on from the subject of that bastard who'd hurt her, and moved on to fun things. She'd had enough depressing for one day.

"So, Franky badass, what do you do for fun around here?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I used to go shooting things. Haven't for a while."

I was interested, I'd never known anyone to go shooting things before, "Perfect. Why did you stop?"

"I stood up to you rather than imagining I was shooting you."

I didn't say a thing for a minute, I was a little bit shocked to say the least, "Well that's kind of... scary but, I'm glad you didn't actually do it."

"I didn't have it for a while, but I do now."

"Then let's go out and do it then. Where do you keep it?"

"In there," she said, gesturing to a drawer.

She wasn't kidding. It was actually a proper gun in an actual drawer.

I handed it to her, and she put it in her jacket's inside pocket. I didn't have one, so I just went out as I was.

We told Jeff and Geoff that we'd be back later. Franky wasn't a child anymore, so as long as they knew that, they didn't really mind, besides, she was out with a friend. She wasn't alone.

She took me to this place near her house, it was entirely strange to me and I'd certainly never been there before.

"This is where I came when I first got here and I wanted to just feel... better. I met Matty here too, pointed my gun at him, I was a bit pissed off at... people that day." I knew she meant me. But that was okay. When she first came, Liv and Grace actually liked her, Grace especially. I could have dealt with it, if it hadn't seemed like she was stealing my thunder. I just... couldn't like her. I started to, though. Eventually, she just grew on me.

And then, she started shooting at this plastic or metal type thing. I didn't really care to check.

"Looks nothing like him though, does it?"

"No."

"If we had a picture of him, or better – the actual him, this would be so much more satisfying..."

"I deleted them all... and there is no way in hell that I..."

"I know... I never said you had to, Franky, and I don't want you to. Plus I don't think being arrested for murder would look too good when you're applying for a job or Uni."

When she shot him, she would only do it 3 times in quick succession. I asked her why.

"One... for Grace." She fired a shot.

"One for Nick." She fired another.

"And one... for me..." She fired the third shot, and handed me the gun. "I think it's your turn now." She said.

I tried to copy what she did. I shot the gun at the... Luke thing.

Bang.

"Fuck! Franky, you never said it was going to hurt my arm."

"But it feels good though, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does."

Bang.

How couldn't it? I was shooting a thing that was representing the guy partly responsible for the death of one of my best friends, beating up my ex, and raping one of my other best friends.

Bang.

And I handed it back, "I know I only had one go but... it is your gun. And it's making me nervous Franks."

It wasn't. It was making me scared of what I would do if I held it for even one more second. It wouldn't be pretty. She said she found him at a pool club, so I'd go to every single one that there was till I found him. Easy. I remembered what he looked like. How could I forget when if not for him, Matty would never have crashed that car. As far as I was concerned, he deserved to die. But there was no way that I could do that right now.

We stayed out there for a while, and I did get a few more goes with her gun, it still bloody hurt, but it was so satisfying that it was worth the small amount of pain that came with it. It was dark when we got back to her house, so we put some music on, had a bit of a dance. She seemed a lot happier, but... she wasn't.

"I'm getting tired, Mini," Franky told me.

"Well, we can go to bed then. Just pass me something to go to sleep in."

She tossed over a strappy top and some joggers. Those would do. We were about the same size anyway.

I turned away and got changed. You could see it now, it was little, but there anyway... I just needed to hide it for a little bit longer. If anyone asked, I'd just say I'd been eating a lot more.

Franky went and got some spare duvet and a pillow from somewhere. I laid them on the floor beside her bed.

"Mini... thanks." I wanted to thank her too.

Quicker than I expected, I drifted off to sleep. I didn't dream, or at least I didn't remember what I dreamed when I woke up. It didn't seem like I had even gotten to sleep when I awoke. When I did, it was obvious why I had; Franky was having a nightmare. It looked like the crack of dawn. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be happy. She was tossing and turning and making those odd noises and crying out... I had to wake her up. I couldn't just leave her like that.

"Franky," I shook her shoulder, "Franky, wake up... come on..."

And she was awake. As soon as she saw me, she burst into tears.

"It's fine Franky... you're here. You're home. You're safe."

"It was just so... horrible, Mini. He was here... right where you are... and..." She was just so upset again...

"You don't need to say it, Franky, not if you don't want to."

She didn't. I was glad, because what she had told me about him before had made me feel absolutely revolted with him. Even though whatever happened in her nightmare never happened, it would only make me hate the bastard all the more, if that was possible.

After she had cried on me for a few seconds, my stomach lurched. I was too used to that feeling to forget I had to rush to the nearest loo as soon as I could, so I did. I quickly apologised to Franky and ran next door to the loo before puking guts down it. It was utterly disgusting. At least neither of us had woken up her dads. That would be bad.

I'd just wiped my mouth and gotten up, when I saw that Franky was stood behind me.

"It's not what you think." I told her.

"Mini..."

"I just... probably had some bad food or... something yesterday."

"Mini, I was with you the whole day... you aren't ill, and you didn't eat anything bad... are you...?" She didn't continue the sentence. There was a pause. "Oh my God... you are, aren't you?"

"Franky, I..."

"I won't say anything. But... wow."

I said nothing.

"Does anyone know?"

I hesitated, "My dad does. When I saw him the other week, I was going to move away with him. I told him... he went to my scan... and he was gone the next day."

"Mini, that's horrible... does anyone else know?"

"I haven't even... really told myself..." It was true. Despite everything, I didn't believe it myself. I had a drawer full of tests that all read positive, and I was still waiting for that one negative to prove them all wrong. It hadn't arrived. I'd even been to a scan. I'd seen it there, moving away. Its heart beating rapidly... but I still couldn't believe I really was pregnant.

"Haven't you told your mum? What about the father?"

I shook my head to both. Every month, I'd pretended to be on for a few days, so that farm boy wouldn't think that anything was up. He had no idea.

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

I shook my head again.

"Well, won't you have to at some point?"

"I don't know Franky. I... I want to keep it, but I don't know how my mum'll react, and... I've nearly told the boy a few times... but I always back out. He ought to know, I guess, but..."

"You need to tell this mystery man, Mini. How long is it before he'll see that there's a bump, or feel it kicking?"

I looked down... I'd probably start to show soon... I was quite far along so if I ever would show... it would be very soon... I'd just have to find clever ways to hide it...

"You need to tell him now, Mini."

I didn't say anything. She was totally right. I had noticed that her eyes had been fixated on my stomach for a while.

"Touch it if you want, then." If this was a public place, then my reaction would be totally different.

She hesitantly reached out and felt my stomach. It was an odd experience to say the least. But she started to laugh, so I guess that it was worth her knowing if it was such a good distraction from her fucked up time with that thing.

"You've already got a bump..." She removed her hand and looked up at me again, "Have you had a scan yet?"

"Yeah. I went with my dad that day. I didn't want to go alone. Then he just... abandoned me the next day with a cheque. I ripped it up..."

"I don't blame you."

There was a period of silence, before Franky asked, "Breakfast?"

I nodded. I might as well.

"We don't have cereal. So... toast or crumpets or porridge or... what?"

"I'll just have some toast, thanks. I'm really not that hungry, but I need something to settle my stomach."

So we both headed downstairs, and sat in the kitchen. Jeff and Geoff weren't up yet. I had my phone with me... Franky was right... I had to tell Alo, and sooner rather than later, otherwise he would be totally pissed at me, and we'd only just gotten over such a huge argument. I didn't get him back because I missed him; I got him back because I missed the sex, plus he was walking around college like some lost puppy.

Franky set a plate down in front of me.

"Do you want to call him?"

"I... Yes. But I don't think I'll go through with it... again."

"I could go with you when you tell him if you like... moral support?"

"I want to say yes, Franky, but, he goes to Roundview, and you know him and..."

"Mini... you wouldn't say anything about me, and I won't say anything about you. I don't care who it is. We can go meet him later, if you like?" and I believed her. I had to tell him, and I supposed that if I wasn't alone, it would be so much easier to go through with it.

"Thanks, Franky... you're a great friend."

Her dads came down after we had finished breakfast.

"You girls are up early." Geoff said.

"Yeah. Dads, we'll be going out in a bit if that's alright?"

"Of course it is. Just remember to call us if you're planning on being late or staying out."

"Of course."

And then we went back up the stairs to Franky's room, each had a shower and got ready for the day, the usual.

When we were both ready to go out, I called Alo.

"Hi..." I said, when he answered the phone.

"Mini, what's up?"

"Look, I've got something I need to tell you. It's important. I've... put it off for a while, but I need to do this. But we can't do this over the phone. Come to mine at noon. We'll talk then."

"Mini, you're scaring me..."

"It's important... just do it, okay... bye."

And I hung up... I didn't want to wait for his response.

"It's done, Franky. He's meeting me... us... at noon at mine... No going back..." And I was scared. So very scared of what would happen.

So, we headed down to mine. Most of what we said on the way was so pointless, but about halfway there, Franky said something that made me so incredibly happy, "I'm going to get that second counsellor." In a situation like hers, that was one of the best possible things that she could have done. "I swear I will. You can hold me to it."

"I will."

When we got back to mine, my mum met us in the doorway, and she was more concerned than I thought she would have been.

"Where've you been, then?"

"I was at Franky's. We both needed a friend."

"You could have called!"

"I know. I'm off to my room. The boy'll arrive at noon; just send him up."

She groaned, and sent us up.

"Have you got your scan photo to show him?" Franky asked. She doubted that the boy would believe me if I didn't.

"Better than that." I said. I took her one step over, to my desk and opened the drawer.

"Fuck, Mini! There's got to be at least 10 tests in there!"

"I know."

And then she picked up the picture.

"For not even being a baby yet, it's pretty cute..."

So we waited for 2 hours. There was stuff to do of course, but the time dragged for me. There was just too much to think about.

At 11:45, Alo practically burst through the door.

"Right Mini, I-" He noticed Franky.

"Alo? You're fucking him?" Franky said. She had every right to be surprised. Who wouldn't be? She probably had to wonder how a guy like him would ever even get to be close to a girl like me.

"What's Franky doing here?"

"I needed some moral support, farm boy, if you even understand the concept."

"What for? You know that phone call seriously freaked me out."

"It's nothing bad, you know, Alo, but... just listen to her, okay?"

He sat with us on Mini's bed. He went about it a little slowly. Probably thought I was dying.

"I've been lying to you, Alo... and there's something you need to know. But it's important... and it's important that no-one knows. Not Rich, not your parents, not anyone. Do you understand?"

"Alright, fine, whatever, I won't say, just tell me."

"There's a slight chance that..."

"Slight?" Franky said. She was right... it had passed beyond slight a long time ago.

"I've not been..." I just didn't know how to begin.

I turned to Franky, and she said, "Why don't you just show him if you can't... you know?"

I nodded, got up, and took the drawer completely out of the desk.

"Mini, what's in there?" He was seriously worried. I didn't mean for him to be, but it wasn't something I could have helped.

I passed him the drawer. As soon as he even glanced at it, his jaw dropped. "Is this... what I think it is, Mini?"

"Yeah, Alo... Don't make a big deal of it."

"But... you've been having... you know...?"

"I haven't..."

"Fuck... What are you gonna... I mean..."

"I guess... I'm keeping it. You can do what you want..."

And then he got down on one knee. I groaned. He was not going to propose at a time like this. Not only would my answer be a definitive no, but he'd also earn himself a slap.

"Mini, I know you don't feel the same way about me as I feel about you... but we are having a baby together, and I want to be there for you. I'm not proposing, I'm just saying... whatever you need, I'll help you do, I mean, this is my baby too. We can raise it at the farm, and..." Alo... it annoyed me how much he liked me so I always had to remind him how much I didn't like him... even though I was just starting to realise that it wasn't just his cock that made me keep him around... somehow, I'd actually grown to kind of like his obnoxious personality and his blatantly ugly face. But my baby was not living on his mucky farm, so of course, it was my obligation to interrupt. Oh, and if he thought he had any influence in my baby's name, he was so incredibly wrong; I already knew _exactly_ what my baby's name would be. No-one else did.

"Whoa there, farm boy. I am not having my child raised on a mucky old farm. But we've decided to accept your help. Besides, what would you say when you're moving me on to that... place? They'd know something was up."

He started beaming up at me, "That's all I wanted."

He remained there on the floor for a moment, "Well, up you get then." I told him.

So he did. He reminded me of a dog the way he did that – almost always doing as he was told.

"So, Mini... would you care to tell me how you and Alo started fucking?" Franky asked, almost laughing.

"Morocco, Franky. It all started there." I said. I paused. She didn't seem upset, or at least, not like before, "Basically, I woke up wanting a fuck. I went into his room and got one. It was a one time, secret thing."

"Didn't stay that way, though, did it?" Alo added.

"Of course not. We kept fucking. And then, all thanks to him, Rich ended up walking in on us... We were at Grace's. I was stupid enough to go over there when Rich was there. He was a bit pissed."

"Understandable, really. What with... Grace..."

We were all silent for a moment. It was just not at all fair. It never would be. Grace... she was so lovely, such an amazing girl. She didn't deserve to die, and none of us should have had to lose her.

"If we had wine or something, and you could drink... we would so toast to her right now." Franky said.

And then it was all suddenly okay for a bit that day. I still had no intentions of telling anyone anything, but Alo knew, and he was the only one who had to for a while. Franky and I, we knew that things were going to be difficult for us for a while. Neither of us were having a particularly normal, easy time. It would take time... a lot of time, and I wasn't sure when exactly things were going to get better, but I could see that they would... compared to the way I'd felt before, I was already feeling better in the space of a day, and I could see the differences in Franky. It would be a while, but we were taking baby steps. It would turn out alright in the end. It had to. And it wouldn't be long till I saw little Gracie.

* * *

><p><strong>So, she was talking to Mini. I did say I actually wanted her to be talking to someone else, and that's true, I actually wanted her to be talking to Nick, but that's not always how things work out. <strong>

**Oh, and in my mind, Mini's actually about 5/6 months along, because of what the scan lady said in her episode, and the fact that it's been a few weeks since her episode occurred in this.**

**So, I got one review last time :) That person said they wanted her to be talking to Grace, and I can honestly say I never thought of it in that way, but it would have made sense if she had been, really... except for the fact that she'd be talking to an empty swing outside her house. **

**I do hope you enjoyed it, and please review. **

**Kaisha**


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